P2P and P&G

Online social networking sites are all the rage these days. Some, like Friendster and MySpace, allow posters to literally go viral by using an 'invite a friend' feature. When they accept, the friend's 'network' now includes your profile and all of the profiles of the people linked to yours and the profiles in turn linked to the profiles belonging to friends of friends, etc. Sites like Friendster and MySpace have intrigued advertisers, but aside from selling banner ad space these social networking portals were largely launched with the go-go 90's premise of 'build first, monetize later.'
So how does this relate to viral marketing? When a peer-to-peer (P2P)-type network exists, sooner or later advertisers will figure out how to introduce advertising that mimics the way the network functions and blend it in. This is exactly what Proctor & Gamble has begun to do on the MySpace network to promote its new Secret Sparkle brand. So without infringing on trade secrets, here's the formula they're using:

Post a profile in the name of a popular celebrity who endorses their product

Write a blurb or two about the celebrity (in P&G's case it's Hillary Duff)

Blend in information and graphics promoting the company's product

Soon enough, many online social butterflies will opt to become 'friends' with the celebrity (at least on the site), and when their profile gets passed on or requested by their friends, the celebrity pitchperson hitches a ride.